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OpenID enables web users to register a single username and password that can then be used with any website that supports the system.

Jem Stone, executive producer for social media at the BBC's Future Media and Technology unit, says that the corporation's involvement will allow it to contribute to the development and marketing of OpenID.

"However, at this stage, and wary of being named and shamed here, this doesn't mean that we are going to immediately be offering OpenIDs on bbc.co.uk or even promising to do so," he says. "We would want to make absolutely sure that this is right for users, is secure and can be implemented properly across all the BBC's many services."

Stone's reluctance is not matched by other members of the foundation such as AOL, Google and Yahoo, which all now allow OpenID logins on some, if not all, of their websites.